By Simone Elder, Commercial & Ag Loan Officer, Western State Bank of Leoti
As the saying goes, nothing is certain in life but death and taxes. Since I’m not a tax advisor, I can’t give you much advice about paying taxes (or not.) I’m not an expert on death, but know firsthand how difficult grief is to handle when it’s unexpected. I want to urge you to consider some ways that you can make your inevitable passing easier on those you leave behind.
If you don’t have a joint owner on your account, consider adding a beneficiary or Payable on Death (POD) to your account. This eases the transfer of funds to your beneficiary.
Additional authorized signers on your account are not the same thing as a joint owner. Their access to your account ceases if you (the account owner) die.
A bank will honor the POD designation over a will that may be in place, so be sure that your POD and your most recent will reflect your wishes. If you don’t have a will nor a named beneficiary, your family may find themselves waiting on the probate process before they can access funds, which can take months to resolve.
One more perk of adding a beneficiary to your account: You’ll increase the amount of funds that can be FDIC insured. Your individual accounts can be FDIC insured up to $250,000, and each qualifying POD can add another $250,000.
Please visit with our New Accounts representatives to check the status of your account and make any changes you see as necessary.